A weekend with our son away at Disney World with the high school choir led to an impromptu road trip with my wife, Kärin, featuring art, theater and opera.

Our first stop was Margaret Lockwood’s gallery in Sturgeon Bay for a farewell to Midsummer’s Music Festival executive director Russ Warren. Russ and his husband, Bruce Joffe, are moving to Portugal.

Russ will be sorely missed at Midsummer’s but will be ably replaced by violist and assistant artistic director Allyson Fleck. Russ will continue doing some of the marketing work from Portugal.

It was the most extended time I have spent in Lockwood’s gallery, and Kärin and I picked our favorites, including a luminous oil painting of a birch grove. We also enjoyed seeing kinetic sculptures by Stephen Haas of the Door Kinetic Arts Festival.

We then made our way to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan for an inspiring exhibition series.

In the exhibits, five different environments co-exist, reflecting five different perspectives on truth, reality and healing, contemplating the role of fiction and belief in the uncovering of universal truths.

The most compelling were the elaborate works of a true tramp artist, obsessed with creating works that heal, and the recovery and reconstitution of a pair of women’s fascinating work from the first half of the 20th century.

Four of the exhibits run through most of the summer, but one located in the former Kohler residence closes May 20. The experience is enhanced by the presence of a youth art exhibit and, as always, the museum's artist-decorated washrooms.

Our next stop was the storied Mary Nohl house in the Milwaukee suburb of Fox Point. Although it is not open to the public, and even stopping to view the many exterior sculptures through the fence is discouraged by prompt enforcement of street parking restrictions, we got a look and a few pictures while safely avoiding incarceration.

Nohl was an eccentric artist who made elaborate and whimsical concrete sculptures that are scattered about the lawn. She worked in many other media as well, and those works are inside the house. Nohl left a sizable estate upon her death, and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation manages a fund in her name that supports visual artists.

Next, in Chicago, the Goodman Theatre’s longtime artistic director, Robert Falls, has adapted and directed Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” in a new production that just opened. Ibsen’s angry rant has seen several new adaptations recently, perhaps most notably in Flint, Michigan.

The story follows a scientist’s efforts to alert the community to the health risks of contaminated water in their popular new public baths. But our hero and his family are arrogant, privileged and woefully insensitive to the ramifications of this discovery for the rest of the community. The mayor, the press, the small business community and big business all demonstrate selfish and unethical behavior, and the broader community reacts mindlessly.

We saw it in previews, and while I would have preferred more nuance at times, it’s a fine production that will tighten up now that script and staging are no longer being revised. Peninsula Players Alden Vasquez (production stage manager) and Kyle Pingel (wardrobe) keep the show running smoothly, and Dan Klarer (Players, Third Avenue Playhouse and Northern Sky) and Carly Cornelius (Door Shakespeare) are found among the townsfolk. Cornelius has a major understudy responsibility. The show runs through April 15.

Our final stop was Skylight Music Theater in Milwaukee, where the Offenbach opera “Tales of Hoffman” recently opened.

Staged beautifully by new Skylight artistic associate Jill Anna Ponasik, the production design is thrillingly both modern and historic, anchored by Lisa Schlenker’s creative and delightfully surprising set. Jason Fassl (Players, Door Shakespeare) lights the production to show off the other production elements to their best effect. Doug Clemons (debuting this summer at Northern Sky in new musicals “Boxcars” and “Dairy Heirs”) gives a strong performance in a featured role in the third act. Kerry Bieneman's music directs a terrific onstage orchestra and excellent voices.

I have some quibbles with the loose frame that holds the three stories together, and I found the acting a bit uneven, but the show is a feast for the eyes and ears. It plays through March 29.

While I gravitate to new work, we found a different theme ran through most of the weekend, that of existing work being placed in a contemporary context. The curators, adapters and interpreters are as important to these experiences as the original creators.

Alan Kopischke is a university lecturer, actor and arts consultant working with theaters, universities and other cultural organizations around the state. He writes a column on arts experiences outside Door County in which traveling residents might have an interest. Contact Alan at alan.kopischke@gmail.com with “Arts Traveler” in the subject line with suggestions or questions for future columns.